HYDERABAD: Dr Rajesh Rachcha, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Care Hospital, Gachibowli, who treated constable Arvind Goud, who was injured by the accused in the rape and murder case of a veterinarian in December 2019, deposed before the three-member commission on Friday.
Arvind had suffered an injury on his left shoulder and was first treated at CHC, Shadnagar, and then shifted to Care Hospital for better treatment, where he was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for four days, before being discharged.
Dr Rajesh said that admission to the ICU is necessary only for patients requiring advanced medical support, but in Arvind's case, he didn't have any problems requiring him to be admitted and treated in the ICU.
"However, there was a potential risk in the form of a chest injury because he had an injury in the shoulder area and also around the scapula (shoulder bone), due to which the risk of injuring the lung is quite high," he added.
He did not notice any breathing difficulty by Arvind, but the emergency department had admitted him to the ICU, he told the commission. When asked if a "hairline fracture of a scapula" requires treatment in the ICU, he said that any fracture around the scapular area is equivalent to a blunt injury to the chest and has the potential risk of pneumothorax or lung contusion.
However when asked how many patients with a "hairline fracture of a scapula" he had admitted to the ICU, he said he has never admitted any such patients to the ICU.
Even if a lung injury is suspected, he would have advised him to be under observation at the hospital, but in this case, it was not necessary that Arvind be kept in the ICU. Replying to the commission, Dr Rajesh said, "I felt his admission to ICU was unnecessary, and after 48 hours of admission, I had advised the patient to be shifted to the ward."
During the deposition, the commission pointed to several inconsistencies between the findings and the treatment noted in the clinical notes and in the patient’s discharge summary. Replying to the question, Dr Rajesh said that he "cannot comment" on the entries made by other doctors and also that of the nursing staff.